DOW

AdeMcG, Libero & any anyone else , if you want to do gold i use,
iShares Physical Gold ETC GBP (LSE:SGLN)
www.ii.co.uk/etfs/ishares-physical-gold-etc-gbp/LSE:SGLN

Honestly speaking......don’t spread bet as you will need huge funds just to have a position open nowadays. They changed the law on spread betting last year and its basicallly safe guards people who have a bad habit of betting big . Where as before you could do £10 a point bet with funds of around £200 , but now it’s more like £2000 of funds required for same bet...
Only professional traders have the luxury of small funds for big positions....basically people who are tax registered for trading...lol..
The markets are really crazy currently and which ever way you bet you will get taken out due to huge swings of 500 points a time...
When ever I enter on the Dow I’m starting with 500 points stop currently...just to try and give it a chance to get the trade right....This is not good....I used to only have a 40 point stop on the Dow but those days are gone now...due to size of index...
Stay safe and just watch and see how the markets perform as it’s a roller coaster .
Just safe money up for the big event which hopefully is getting on board at the bottom f the markets....long way off still so just try and enjoy the ride..

Thanks for the explanation Libero,....perhaps I will stay ultra safe and just watch the action from a far

AdeMcG wrote: For a simpleton like myself, what is the easiest ( and safest) way to profit from exposure to:
A.) Gold ( perhaps an ETF?)
B.) The DOW long or short

I have an active iii trading and share ISA account and I don't really want to open an IG index account and lose lots of cash like 64% of all their accounts
cheers
Ade

Ade, glad you're well.

with regards to your questions...

a. it really depends - are you looking to trade gold for the short term, or do you believe in it as a genuine safe haven (i.e. to have and to hold)

b. easiest and safest when trading the dow (particularly during volatility and especially when looking to short) are tough to answer - it's not easy, and it's definitely not safe!

you have a number of options with both a & b

a. buy physical, bet on it (cfd, or spread), etf and funds, the royal mint etc...
b. short via IG and the like again (via Cfd or spread), options (beware!), warrants (beware!), or inverse trackers.

In fact, they all deserve a "beware" disclaimer.

Stay Safe!

remo wrote: From what I heard Americans have to pay for a test for corona...Surely people ain’t going to bother so likely to be worse than they realise in America...
I’m short on Dow and long on gold....

Hey Folks, I hope you're all staying safe. And for those trading this baby, hats off - you're all legends in my eyes!

With regards to Remo's remark (above) - here's an extract from Donald Trump's favourite "paper", the Washington Post

The race to curb the spread of the new coronavirus could be thwarted by Americans fearful of big medical bills if they get tested, low-income workers who lose pay if they take time off when sick, and similar dilemmas that leave the United States more vulnerable to the epidemic than countries with universal health coverage and sturdier safety nets.

So, it could dicey in the US; moreover, consider this: if the above message is capitalised on, it could pave the way for greater support for Bernie Sanders - which a large number of the "1%" and Markets dislike greatly.

If things (based on the above) gain momentum, Sanders' policies will get more traction, and it will be a straight shoot-out between a "healthcare for all to defeat Corona" message vs "Healthcare for those who can afford it and the hell with the rest" slogan.

It could be a wild ride, and there's more than just markets riding on the outcome in my humble view.

For a simpleton like myself, what is the easiest ( and safest) way to profit from exposure to:
A.) Gold ( perhaps an ETF?)
B.) The DOW long or short

I have an active iii trading and share ISA account and I don't really want to open an IG index account and lose lots of cash like 64% of all their accounts
cheers
Ade